Holyhead Breakwater Lighthouse

The structure, which was completed in 1873, was most likely designed by Victorian civil engineer John Hawkshaw after he took control of Holyhead harbour works in 1857. The lighthouse was the last major building completed on the breakwater. The three-storey black and white tower, unlike many contemporary lighthouses, is square. In the 19th century, packet ships approaching Holyhead in the fog would be warned by a bell operated from the lighthouse. In the late 1870s, this was supplemented with rockets which would complement the gun fired from the fog warning station on North Stack, Anglesey. The lighthouse was staffed until November 1961, when it was automated. Among the last keepers in the…